Feed mechanism for attaching machines



F. E. WARNER FEED MECHANISM FOR ATTACHING MACHINES June 13, 1933.

Filed Aug. 6, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l June 13, 1933.

Filed Aug. 6, 1931 1 s Sheets-Sheet 2" June 13, 1933. F. E. WARNER FEEDmacmmxsm FOR ATTACHINGMACHINES Filed Au 6, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I l l lJ Pl ase June 13,1933

uting mechanism of the machine, the structural position, whereb UNITED.STATES PATENT OFFICE rm: E. WARNER, OF WATEBBUBY, CONNECTICUT, ASBIGNOB'10 SGOVILL MANU- FAO'I'UBING COMPANY, O1 WATEBBUBY, CONHICTIOU'I, ACORPORATION OF OOH-- ram) uncnamalr roa ,uracnmo ncrmms Application fledAugust 1981. Serial Io. 555,634.

The cap members, of snap and other fasteners of various t pes, whichhave substantially the same sur ace contour on their front and backsides or faces, present certain difiiculties in their proper automaticmechanical feed to the setting mechanisms of automatic setting orattaching machines.

The object of this invention is to feed mechanism, primarily for fee mgcaps of this type, which mechanism ensures the automatic arran ement ofthe ca s in roper position to be e ectively handle by t e set setting orattaching characteristics of the caps being, in a measure theirarrangement and tion. I

The invention contem tion of mechanism inclu mg an appropriate eed inproper posiraceway leading to the setting mechanism of an attachinmachine, and a feed hopper associated with this racewayand adaptedreceive, haphazard, a plurality of fastener caps or the like of similarfront and back surface contour which are to be fed to the racewayall'inthe same position. This hop r. is provided with a rotatable member. preerably provided with a plurality of reciprocable, and hence projectable,retractable members adapted to engage and feed the caps whenpresented tothem in one position and to reject the caps when presented in an} otherthesaid caps are fe raceway in the nism, all as will be hereinafterexplained more fully and finally claimed.

p which likeparts are similarly designated,

Figure 1' is a front elevation of one type of feed hopper and racewayembodying the principle of the invention in its pre erred form. Fi 2 isa side elevation of the parts shown in ig. 1, Fig.3 is a fragmentaryrear elevation of the parts shown in tain parts being broken away. Fig.-4 is a fragmentary front elevation of the arrangement of Fig. 1 with thehopper casing removed and parts broken away. Fig. 5 is 'a rovide adepended upon for.

lates an organizato the esired arrangement for subsequent introductioninto the setting mecha- Fig. 1, cersection taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are enlarged fragmentary schematic sections taken,respective on the lines 66, 7-7,. 88 and 9-9 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged edge view of the cam track for operating thereciprocable members.

11 is a side elevation of a modified emb iment of the apparatus of theinvention, a portion of a conventional setting or attach mg Fig, 12 is afront view of the apparatus of Fig. 11 looking directly at the axis ofthe hopper, and with parts broken away. Fig. 13 is a section on line13-13 and Fig. 14 is a section on line 14-44 of Fig. 12. Fig. 15 is anedgle view of the cam track of the apparatus of igs. 11to 14.

The feed mechanisms of the two embodi ments of the apparatus of theinvention disclosed in Figs. 1 to 10 and 11 to 15, respectively, areessentially the same, but in the first mentioned embodiment the hopperand its disk are arranged upon a horizontal axis and in the otherembodiment these parts are arranged upon aninclined axis. The former isdesigned primarily for use in connection with powerdriven machines, andthe latter with foot power machines of the kickoff type, such as thatpartially illustrated in broken lines, Fig. 11.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 to 10 inclusive, the embodimenttherein shown includes a frame member 1 which may be suitably mountedupon the frame of the attaching machine. The upper portion of this framemember 1 is enlarged to substantially circular shape to form a back orclosure 2 for a hopper 3 rigidly secured to it by cap screws 4 whichpass through the flange 5 of the hopper. This flange is cut away at 6 toreceive the entrance end of a raceway comprising guides. 7 and 8 securedto the front and back of the frame member 1, respectively.

The'back 2 is provided with a circular depression or recess 9 in whichis arranged a rotatable member or disk 10 mounted for rotation with ashaft 11 journalled in a bearing member 12 and carrying a pulley 13whereby it'may be appropriately rotated by machine being shown .inbroken lines.-

the diskIOwhen necessar ing beyond the face'of the disk, an

in the back 2.

means of a belt connected with 'a moving part of the attaching machine.'A han wheel 14 and pawl and ratchet mechanism 15-16 are provided formanually rotating or desired.

The disk 10 is provid with a plurality of bores 17 in circumferentialarrangement adjacent to its periph and in these bores are arrangedreciproca 1e, and hence rojectable retractable members or pins 18 avmgundercut extensions 19 normall projectheads 20 and collars 21 extendingbeyond the back of the disk and travelling in a guideway 22 The radiuson which the pins 18 are circumferentially arranged is such that theywill feed fastener parts (preferably caps of the type hereinbeforereferred to) into theraceway formed by the guides 7and8.

35 their heads 20 and co The "guideway 22 is enlarged throughout thatportion adjacent to the racewiay and is provided with a cam track 23(see igs. 4 to 10) adapted to engage the pins 18 between lars 21 toretract them as they approach the raceway and to project them to normalposition again after they have assed the raceway, as will be morespecificalointed out hereinafter. :0 W1.

e hopper 3. is provided with a lip 24 &}Fig. 9) overlying the gins'whichare, for e time being, operate upon by the cam track 23, so that thefastener parts advanced by the pins into-proximity to the entrance endof the raceway will not drop" back into the hopper. v

The hopper 3 is provided with a filli opening 25 havin ,a hinged cover.26, an may be emptied rough a discharge opening 27 provided witha ca 28held m p ace by a spring arm 29 pivota y mounted at 30. A chute 31underlies the discharge opening 27 for the purpose of facilitatingthecollection of the parts dischargedin a suitable re- A ceptacle.

In order that the i and replaced, when nry, without dismantlin themachine,

an opening 32 provided with a cap 33 communicates with the 'pne of thegui guideway 22 throu hthe back 2.

If the raceway s ould become jammed, it may be cleared by removal of asection 34 of des 7. This section 34 is held in place by'a spring latchmember 35 and pins 36 in a known manner.

- Referring now to Figs. 11 to 15, it will be I seen that the framemember 1" is so attached to a bracket 37 of the setting machine that theaxis of the hopper 3' is arran ed at an angle and' the back or closure 2o the hopper is inclined. The hopper 3 in this form of the apparatus ispreferably a sheet metal on having a slip t on'the exterior of a cyindrical boss 38 formed on the back 2.

pins 18 may inspected around with the disk out o e upper or exposed faceof the hopper 3f is an function in the same manner as the similar partsalread described, but their arrangement is slig tly different.

The cam track 23 is arranged at the outer circumference of the guideway22' and the guideway is closed by a shield 42.

The disk 10 is mounted upon a shaft 43 havin a bearing 44 in the back 2and is frictionalfy secured for rotation with this shaft by a springwasher 45 and hand wheel 46.

The shaft 43 carries a ratchet wheel 47 engaged by a pawl 48 pivotallymounted upon a lever plate 49. Oscillatory movement is imparted to thisplate 49 by a'link 50 connected with a lever 51 actuated by the mainlever 52 of the attaching machine. Also connected with the plate 49 is alink 53 ating the feed element 54 of the raceway 7 Thus, ever time theattaching mechanism is operated t e disk 10' will be partially rotated,clockwise, and the feed element 53 will be actuated.

Obviously, the disk 10' rotated, when desired, by wheel 46.

An inspection opening 32, similar to and for the same purpose as thatalready descliizgid, is provided in the back 2".

may be manually means of the hand section at a and b in Figs. 6 to 9, itwill be seen that their front and back faces are of substantially thesame contour, the back face from the front face only 'in that it is'provlded with an opening for the reception of a complemental attachingmember, and that it is radially slitted. These differences, however, arenot sufficient to enable the caps to be fed and properly positioned, allin one sense, in a raceway, by reliance upon their physicalcharacteristics alone, and hence they must be positively handled by thefeed mechanism.

In either form of apparatus illustrated the; caps, in quantities, aredumped haphazard into the hopper. As the disk rotates the caps will beagitated by the normally projecting undercut ends 19 or 19'-of thereciproca l'e members or pins 18 or 18' and those caps which happen tofall with their open back faces in contact with the pins will be engagedthereby and sefparately carried the caps in the hopper and deposited inthe-raceway. The undercut extensions 19 or 19 ofthe pins will so engagethe caps as to prevent them from falling back into the hopper, as willbe apparent from an ins cation of Fig. 8.

This figure (8) lllustrates the manner in which those caps which are inthe one proper position (a) relatively to the pins will be enerring tothe fastener caps shown in for operthe; pins engage the cam track theually retracted until they r then they are projected capsfcan be of:thelip 24 or 24 and osition of Fig), 8 i y orena gagedthereby,awhereasthose (11) whichare otherwise positioned-{will be re ected. v The pins',when travelling in that ortion of the guideway not occupiedby t e camtrack, are normally positioned with their undercut extensionsi projectinbeyond the facejof the disk, asshown ig. 5. r When aregrad assumet eposition illustrated in Figs. 6 and-9 which freesthe caps r'romthem;Thecaps cannot fall back into the hopperbecause of the arrangement hencethey must fall into the raceway. a The pins remain in retracted positionuntil they are clear of the zoneof the raceway, and v aduallas shown inFig. 7 untilthey reac the in y projected eld projected the guideway 22or22'l thus be seen that inasmuch as the n It will I picked up by thepins only in one position, they. will all be deposited in the raceway inthe samesenseand hence will feed therethrough into proper relation tothe setting mechanism of the attaching machine.

Various changes and modifications other than and in addition to thosespecifically referred to are considered 30,

i into proximit h f0 85 opper r to be within the spirit of the;invention and the scope of the followin claims. a

,What claim is r i 1. The combination with a raceway, of a the receptionof a plurality of parts to be fed,a rotatable member arranged in saidhopper and carrying an axially reciprocable member extendingtherethrough and having one end adapted to engage a part presented inone position. and to reject parts otherwise presented and to advancesaid part cooperating with the opposite end of said reciprocable memberfor retracting same to permit said part to enter said raceway.

2, The combination with a "raceway, of a hopperfor the reception of aplurality of parts to be fed, a rotatable member arranged in said hopperand carrying an axially reciprocable member extending therethrough andhaving one end adapted to engage a part presented in one position and toreject parts otherwise presented and to advance said part a intoproximity cooperating with for subsequently engagement with to saidraceway, and means the opposite end of said reciprocable member forretracting same to permit said part to enter said raceway and projectingsaid member for another part to be .fed.

3. The combination with a raceway, of a hopper for the reception of aplurality of i 5 arts to be fed, a rotatable member arran ed msaidhopper and provided with aplura ity a of axially reciprocable membersextending therethrough and each having one end adapted to engage saidparts when in one position and are again .normally' to said raceway, andmeans,

and to re'ect them when inothea positions, sald mem rs serving toadvance said parts to 881d raceway, and meanscoopera with theopposite'ends of said members or reof axially, reciprocable members extendingtherethrough and ieachyhaving one end-adap ed to engage said parts whenin one position and to reject them when in other positions,

said members serving to advance saidparts tosaidraceway, and meanscooperating with the: opposite ends of "said members or retracting sameto permit feed of the arts en agedthereby intosaid raceway an for suquently projecting said members for engagement withotherparts to be fed.

Inafeed mechanism ior attaching ma-I chines, a raceway, a

plurality olf parts to befed arotatable disk arranged insaid hopper andprovided with a plurality of] reciprocable pins extending therethroughand each havin one end adaptedto engage and feed to sai raceway partspresented in one position and to reject parts otherwise presented, meansfor rotating said disk, and meansc'oo site ends of said pins forprojecting and retracting same for the purpose specified. v

6. In afeed mechanism for attaching machines, a raceway, a hoppercommunicating with said raceway and ada ted to receive a plurality ofparts to be ed, a rotatable disk arranged in said hopper and providedwith aplurality of reciprocable pins extend ing therethrough and eachhavin one end adapted to engage and feed to sai raceway parts presentedin one position andto reject arts otherwise resented, means for rotat mgsaid disk, an a stationary cam track cooperating with the opposite endsof said pins for projectin and retracting same for the purpose speci ed.p v "7. Ina feed mechanism for attaching machines, a raceway, a hoppercommunicating with said raceway and adapted to receive a perating withthe oppohopperdcomn unicating ,wlth said racewayand adapted to receive aIll pluralityof fastener parts in haphazard ar-j rangement,a*rotatabledisk arrangedin said hopper and carryinga plurality ofreciprocable pinsextending therethrough and eac havin one end normall projecting beyondsaid isk" and into said opper, the projecting ends of said pins adaptedtoengage and feed to said raceway fastener parts presented to them inone position and to reject fastener parts otherwise presented, and meanscoop crating with the opposite ends ofsaid pins for retracting theirnormally pro'ecting ends as they approach saidraceway or the purposespecified.

8. In a feed m'echanism for attaching machines, a raceway, a hoppercommunicating with said raceway and adapted to receive a plurality offastener parts in haphazard arrangement, a rotatable disk arranged insaid hopper and carrying a plurality of reciprocable pins extendingtherethrough and each having one end normally projecting beyond saiddisk and into said hopper, the pro- .jecting ends of said pins adaptedto engage and feed to said raceway fastener parts presented to them inone position and to reject fastener parts otherwise presented, meanscooperating with the opposite ends of said pins for normally holding theprojecting ends of said pins in projected position, and means engageablewith said :opposite ends for retracting said pins as they approach saidraceway for the purpose specified.

9. In a feed mechanism for attaching machines, a frame member, a racewaycarried by said frame member, a hopper carried by said frame member andclosed thereby, said hopper adapted to receive a plurality of fastenerparts in haphazard arrangement, a rotatable disk arranged in said hopperand provided with a plurality of projectable retractable pins adapted toengage and feed to said raceway fastener parts presented in one positionand to reject fastener parts otherwise presented, a guideway in saidframe member adapted to hold said pins normally in projected positionwhereby they may engage said fastener parts and advance them intoproximity to said raceway, a cam track for retracting said pins adjacentto said raceway for releasing said fastener parts and permitting theirentrance into the raceway, and means for rotating said disk;

10. In a feed mechanism for attaching machines, a frame member, araceway carried by said frame member, a hopper carried by said framememberand closed thereby, said hopper adapted to receive a plurality offastener parts in haphazard arrangement, a rotatable disk arranged insaid hopper and provided with a plurality of projectable retractablepins adapted to engage and feed to said raceway fastener parts presentedin one position and to reject fastener parts otherwise presented, aguideway in said frame member adapted to hold said pins normally inprojected position whereby they may engage said fastener parts andadvance them into proximity to said raceway, a cam track for retractingsaid pins adjacent to said raceway for releasing said fastener parts andpermitting their entrance into the raceway, means for preventing returnof said fastener parts to said hopper'after such releasing, and meansfor rotating said disk.

11. In a feed mechanism for chines, a frame member, by said framemember,

attaching maa racewayv carried I a hopper carried by said frame memberand closed thereby, said hopper adapted to receive a plurality of fas-.tener parts In haphazard arrangement, a rotatable disk arranged in saidhopper and provided with a plurality of projectable retractable pinsadapted to engage and feed to said raceway fastener parts presented inone position and to reject fastener parts otherwise presented, aguideway in said frame member adapted to hold said pins normally inprojected position whereby they may engage said fastener parts andadvance them into proxlmity to said raceway, a cam track for retractingsaid pins adjacent to said raceway for releasing said fastener parts andpermitting their entrance into the raceway, a lip in said hopperoverlying the fastener parts and serving to prevent their return to saidhopper after such releasing, and means for rotating said disk. 7

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of AugustA. D. 1931. FRANK E. WARNER.

